Cullen unveils funding for two new Brandon schools
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/01/2021 (2090 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Education Minister Cliff Cullen announced on Thursday that the Manitoba government will be setting aside more than $24 million for seven future land acquisition projects, which includes two new school sites in the Brandon area.
During an afternoon news conference on education infrastructure, Cullen stated that these projects involve a K-8 and K-12 facility, with the latter being a school under the jurisdiction of Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine.
Outside of Brandon, Cullen also mentioned that this funding will be used to build new facilities in the Louis Riel, River East Transcona, Seven Oaks and Pembina Trails school divisions, all located in Winnipeg.
This news was part of Thursday’s broader announcement, where Cullen said the province will be investing an additional $50 million over the existing $160 million in funding they had earmarked for K-12 school capital projects this fiscal year.
While the minister did not offer any more information about these new Brandon projects, he mentioned that this announcement reinforces the current PC government’s promise to build 20 new schools across the next 10 years.
“We’ve opened six new schools with two more going to tender in the spring of this year, and four will start design in 21-22,” he said. “Just this month, the Maryland Park School in Brandon and the Waterford Springs School in Winnipeg opened for students.”
Maryland Park School officially opened its doors on Jan. 4, providing some much-needed relief to a division that had been contending with student overpopulation for many years.
BSD assistant superintendent Mathew Gustafson told the Sun on Thursday afternoon that this additional K-8 school will serve the same purpose and be a welcome asset to local families.
“We look forward to working with the government of Manitoba in these preliminary stages,” he wrote in an email.
However, a new K-12 DSFM facility will definitely be of interest to french families living in or around Brandon, since the closest francophone school in the area is situated near CFB Shilo (École La Source).
Otherwise, the only other DSFM facilities in Westman are located in St. Lazare (École Saint-Lazare) and Laurier (École Jours de Plaine).
“We are committed to maintaining safe and secure school environments for quality education and making sure students have excellent facilities to learn and grow while supporting our government’s pledge to protect Manitobans,” Cullen said on Thursday.
A DSFM representative was not available for comment by press time.
» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson